Through our very own editors and guest writers, this blog will discuss the INSIDE scoop on the admissions process of various schools and programs. If you wish to ask a specific question, please write to us, and we will make every attempt to address your questions in our future blog discussions.

Wednesday, May 18, 2016

Criminal Records and College Admissions

In a recent press release, the U.S. Department of Education introduced new recommendations designed to encourage U.S. universities to remove questions about criminal history from college applications. The guide, "Beyond the Box", is aimed at removing barriers to entry for prospective students with criminal backgrounds.

As a point of reference, the guide notes that more than 70 million Americans have criminal histories. The road to a second chance is often paved with obstacles for people with criminal backgrounds. Already, many licensing bodies will not issue accreditation to people with criminal convictions. For people trying to rehabilitate by returning to school, application questions about arrests and criminal history could prove prohibitive.

Naturally, the Department of Education wants to ensure that institutions of higher learning remain safe spaces. Yet, the report notes that by creating arbitrary roadblocks, universities are further stigmatizing applicants with criminal backgrounds and preventing them from taking affirmative measures to build better futures.

"Beyond the Box" is one of several sweeping moves by the Obama administration to ease universal access to higher education. The Department of Education has already taken steps to help make the application process more transparent for students through its college scorecard website:
College Score Card. Students can research the rates of return on educations from universities all over the country.